Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

1 Corinthians 15:5-11

...And that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

It is a fact that Jesus had risen from the dead. The most obvious evidence is the empty tomb. Of course, different people have come up with different interpretations on this matter. Some say that the disciples stole the body, some say there was an earthquake that buried the corpse in the ground, and others like the disciples, declared that He has risen from the dead.

In reality, it is hardest to declare that Jesus is alive. If you hear that someone has risen from the dead, how would you feel? I am sure you will be filled with doubts, thinking "is it true?" If you think about it carefully, can the disciples really steal the body? Firstly, there were soldiers guarding the tomb, how could the disciples defeat them? Secondly, even if the disciples have stolen Jesus' body, we have clearly seen the radical change in their lives before and after the resurrection of Jesus. They had great courage.

Before Jesus died and was resurrected, the disciples were scattered everywhere, and everyone denied the Lord. After Jesus resurrected, each one of the disciples became bold witness for the Lord and became martyrs. If Jesus had not really risen from the dead, and that was only a lie, there could not have been such a great change in the lives of the disciples. Jesus' resurrection gave them power to overcome the fear of death. There must have been something special that happened in the life of the disciples that turned them from cowardly, unschooled people to courageous and eloquent preachers, even to the point of death. When the rulers and priests of the Jews asked Peter, "By what power and in what name do you do these things?", Peter testified that it was by the name of Jesus Christ who was crucified and raised from the dead. The testimony of the disciples is not to be taken lightly!

Not only that, Paul said that not only the disciples saw Jesus resurrected, but Jesus also appeared to 500 people, showing that Christ has indeed risen from the dead. These people were still alive at the time Paul wrote this letter. When we consider all these evidence, our hearts are encouraged. We know that our faith is real and Jesus Christ has indeed risen from the dead! Let us come before God and rejoice. Let us praise Him!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we praise you because you have given us so much evidence for your resurrection. We see the lives of the disciples changed and many people who lived during Paul's time could testify to that. May you strengthen our faith to follow you each day. We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!